Nature's Voice

RSPB

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Love nature? You'll love Nature's Voice. Each month we'll bring you features, interviews and news of birds and wildlife, from back gardens to the Sumatran rainforest.
If you can't get enough, try dipping into our back catalogue. We'll take you soa...Show More

The RSPB has welcomed the government's commitment to increasing funding for wildlife friendly farming in October's comprehensive spending review. But it's not all good news and on this episode of Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Direc...Show More

Climbing trees, playing conkers and making daisy chains - the simple outdoor pleasures of being a child. But these are becoming a thing of the past according to Every Child Outdoors, newly published research by the RSPB. In this edition of Nature's ...Show More

10 years ago the RSPB bought Hope Farm. It's run a commercial venture to prove that wildlife friendly strategies can work alongside modern farming methods to the benefit of farmland birds like skylarks and yellowhammers while still turning a profit....Show More

Bill Oddie joins the celebrations to mark 10 years since work began to turn Rainham Marshes in Essex from urban desolation into the great place it is for wildife and visitors today. And Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Martin Harper about the charit...Show More

Volunteers play a key role in the work of the RSPB. In this episode of Nature's Voice we take a look at what they do and why they do it. We hear from volunteers themselves and Jane Markham talks to Alan Murray who heads the volunteering unit at RSPB...Show More

As May arrives swifts are returning to their UK nesting sites - heralding the start of summer. But their populations plummeted by 53 per cent between 1995 and 2015. It’s a subject that Nature’s Voice has visited before and on this episode Jane Markha...Show More

With political uncertainty over Brexit continuing there are still many questions about new UK legislation that will be needed to protect the environment once we've left the EU. On this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Globa...Show More

Out of the 22 Albatross species, 15 are in danger of extinction and that’s despite the remarkable success of the Albatross Task Force – set up by the RSPB and Birdlife International more than a decade ago. On this edition of Nature’s Voice Jane Markh...Show More

Our countryside could fall silent if current declines in wildlife continue. That is why the RSPB has launched Let Nature Sing - a campaign urging politicians to take advantage of the historic opportunity Brexit offers to pass laws to make the UK a wo...Show More

This year the Big Garden Birdwatch is 40 years old and to celebrate Jane Markham will be meeting Ian Barthorpe who took part in the very first count when he was seven years old. He is now visitor experience officer at RSPB Minsmere. She’ll also tal...Show More

House sparrows have made their homes close to human habitation for centuries but since the 1970s their numbers have plummeted by 60 per cent and the decline is particularly noticeable in our towns and cities. Why is this happening? On this episode of...Show More

Every autumn starling numbers in the UK are bolstered by hundreds of thousands of birds migrating here from Northern Europe, Russia and the Ukraine to escape harsh winter weather. As they come in to roost at dusk they gather in huge flocks creating s...Show More

Climate change is already affecting the migration patterns of birds that visit the UK. Some arrive early and leave later while some don’t visit us at all anymore. On this edition of Nature’s Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB’s Andrew Dodd about ho...Show More

One of the season’s great spectacles is about to begin as birds from as far north as the arctic circle head for the UK to overwinter. Pink-footed geese and whooper swans are just two of the species which will be arriving shortly at Loch Leven in cent...Show More

Long before Robin Hood lived in Sherwood Forest, its oak trees were providing homes for nature. August 2018 sees the RSPB preparing to open a brand new visitor centre and take on the management of this historic national nature reserve. On this editi...Show More

The RSPB’s new online activity awards, funded by their partnership with supermarket chain Aldi, aims to connect children with nature. Wild Challenge is full of ideas to inspire children to get outdoors and during Wild Challenge week from the 30th of ...Show More

The annual Swift Survey has been running since 2009, gathering information on where swifts are nesting across the UK. Swift numbers are declining and data from the survey, plus ground breaking research in Northern Ireland, is providing clues to why ...Show More

The government is seeking views on the future of farming. Michael Gove, secretary of state at the department of farming, food and rural affairs wants the UK to be a global leader in protecting the planet and on this episode Jane Markham talks to RS...Show More

When humans move species from one part of the world to another it can cause all sorts of problems. On this month’s Nature’s Voice Jane Markham meets three people who are coping with the impact of these invaders on a daily basis. Laura Bambini is an R...Show More

Field crickets are in danger and the Back from the Brink Field Cricket Project team are working to help increase the population of these chunky little crickets which are just 2 cm long. In the 1980s, there was only one group of fewer than 100 individ...Show More

The government has set its vision for a green future in a detailed 25 year plan to improve the environment. On this month’s Nature’s Voice, the RSPB’s Senior Policy Officer Robin Wynde talks to Jane Markham about the plan and what needs to be done to...Show More

TV presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff takes part in the Big Garden Birdwatch every year with her children. Actor David Neilsen, who plays Roy Cropper in Coronation Street, will be joining the count for the first time. On this month’s Nature’s Voice Jane...Show More

This year's State of the UK's Birds report highlights how climate change is affecting our wintering and breeding birds. This annual 'stock take' of bird numbers is a collaboration between the RSPB, the British Trust for Ornithology and the Wildfowl a...Show More

Back from the Brink is a ground breaking collaboration between eight conservation organisations, funded by the National Lottery. Its aim is to rescue some of our most threatened species before it’s too late and to inspire us all to discover, value an...Show More

In a world where we spend more and more time indoors - how can today’s children connect with nature? Throughout the summer the RSPB, in partnership with the supermarket chain Aldi, have been addressing this in parks up and down the UK with the Wild P...Show More

The government has published the Great Repeal Bill - more formally the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. It states that all existing EU laws will be copied into UK legislation when the UK leaves in March 2019. How will the laws protecting nature and ...Show More

Corncrakes were once widespread throughout the UK but their numbers declined catastrophically during the 20th century. By the 1990s they were only found breeding in the Hebrides, Orkney and some parts of the Scottish West Coast including Durness. On...Show More

As part of Project Puffin the RSPB wants you to join the Puffarazzi and send in your photos of puffins carrying fish in their beaks. Puffins have recently been added to the red conservation list and your photographs will help research into how they a...Show More

Oxford has just become England’s first Swift City – a two year project, with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to give a home to these remarkable summer migrants who spend nearly all their lives on the wing. Since 1995 the number of swifts return...Show More

The National Nightingale Festival brings together events throughout May to give you the chance to go and hear the song of this increasingly rare bird at special venues across the east and south of England. On this edition of Nature’s Voice Jane Markh...Show More

The little tern is the smallest and one of the rarest breeding seabirds in the UK. They over winter in Africa and on their return they nest in the open on sandy and shingle beaches which leaves them vulnerable to human disturbance, predators and high...Show More

We often report on nature in trouble in the podcast – so many species and habitats in the UK and around the world are under threat. But from time to time it’s worth taking stock of where work to help threatened species is bearing fruit. On this editi...Show More

Actors Charles Dance and Jason Isaacs are taking a lead in The Climate Coalition's Show the Love campaign this February. They've given their time to star in a short film made by Ridley Scott Associates featuring the poetry of Anthony Anaxagorou and t...Show More

The Big Garden Birdwatch 2017 takes place between 28-30 January – yes this year you have a choice of three days to take part in the annual count by spending an hour in your garden noting down all the birds you see. And – particularly if you live in t...Show More

The RSPB is aiming to raise a million pounds to acquire 10 million square metres of new space to provide homes for wildlife in the coming year. For this episode of Nature’s Voice Jane Markham talks to Gwyn Williams, the RSPB’s Head of Reserves, about...Show More

Jewellery designer Alex Monroe has created some very special pieces for the RSPB featuring a curlew, a pair of turtle doves and a harvest mouse. The collection illustrates his great love for wildlife and in particular the wildlife on the RSPB’s Minsm...Show More

The RSPB, in partnership with 50 conservation organisations, have pooled data to provide the most comprehensive assessment of the UK’s wildlife ever - and it’s not good news. More than 56 per cent of our wildlife has declined over the last 50 years a...Show More

Turtle doves are the fastest declining bird in the UK - their population is halving every six years. Why is this happening and what can be done to help? On this month’s Nature’s Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB’s Senior Conservation Scientist Dr ...Show More

This year’s Big Wild Sleepout is upon us and on this edition of Nature’s Voice we go on a night time adventure at RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve. We’re on the trail of moths and bats – creatures you may well hear in your own garden if you take...Show More

It happens every morning at this time of year - in the
countryside and in towns - but how many of us have ever really
listened to the dawn chorus? Why do the birds start singing before
the sun even rises and does the early bird really catch the worm?...Show More

The results of this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch sees the lovely long tailed tit making it back into the number 10 spot on the chart. On this edition of Nature’s Voice Jane Markham examines the results with RSPB conservation scientist Dr Daniel Hayhow...Show More

Hen harriers will begin their spectacular courtship sky dance in and around March but they remain one of the UK's most threatened birds of prey. Illegal persecution on upland intensive grouse moors is the most important threat to their survival. On t...Show More

Hattie Garlick's new book Born to be Wild is full of ideas to get children outdoors without spending lots of money and in this – the 100th edition of Nature’s Voice – Jane Markham visits Hattie for a sneak preview. The book's published in March, and ...Show More

If your image of a scientist is someone in a white coat then RSPB conservation scientists Dr Jennifer Smart and Dr Ellie Owen will dispel that image for good. Their work has them up to their knees in water or harnessed on the edge of some of the UK's...Show More

Beecroft Academy in Dunstable is centre stage on this episode of Nature's Voice. Jane Markham went on a school visit with RSPB early years education officer Rebecca Kerfoot in the run up to January's Big Schools Birdwatch. And there are lots of new t...Show More

In the run up to the Paris Climate Change Conference this edition of Nature's Voice looks at how climate change is affecting wildlife. The RSPB's conservation director Martin Harper talks to Jane Markham about the challenges ahead and we celebrate a ...Show More

Response for Nature is a follow up to The State of Nature Report published in 2013. Two years on, and after detailed research, the RSPB and more than 20 other conservation organisations have joined forces to call for action from each of our devolved ...Show More

This July, sections of the sea wall at Wallasea Island in Essex were breached as part of a project to recreate more than seven square kilometres of rare coastal habitats. These are to compensate for habitat lost for development and rising sea levels ...Show More

The puffin is on the new European Red List of birds under threat. Their main breeding colonies in Iceland and Norway have seen sharp declines in the number of chicks making it through to adulthood, and the alarm bells are ringing for this iconic and ...Show More

EU legislation – the Birds and Habitats Directives – which protect the most important wildlife species and habitats in the UK and Europe are being reviewed and at risk of being weakened. On this month's nature's voice, Jane Markham visits the RSPB's ...Show More

The folk rock band Stornoway's new album includes birdsong woven into the music. On this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham meets their lead singer and ornithologist Brian Briggs, and fellow band member Jon Ouin, on Oxford's Port Meadow to explor...Show More

Last year the Somerset levels were experiencing the worst floods in living memory - a year on how did the cranes, which are being reintroduced there, cope. And what about the other wildlife? On this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham visits Damo...Show More

For the Big Garden Birdwatch this year, why not try photographing the birds that come to your bird feeders? The RSPB's Ben Andrew has been trying out a motion-triggered camera at The Lodge nature reserve and has tips and advice on how to do it. Plus,...Show More

The Sandwell Valley nature reserve on the edge of Birmingham is a great place to see the winter migrants which will be arriving throughout the month including goosanders and pintails. On this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham braves the weather...Show More

One of the last places where you are almost guaranteed to hear nightingales sing in spring is under threat after outline planning permission was granted on a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Kent. Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Rolf Williams ...Show More

Sir David Attenborough is one of the speakers at September's Conference for Nature. The event builds on the State of Nature report which showed that 60 per cent of UK species are in decline. The 12 wildlife partners behind the event hope to develop i...Show More

The RSPB's Skydancer project has been nominated for a National Lottery Award in the Best Education Project category and on this month's Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to Blanaid Denman about how the project is raising awareness of the Hen Harrier'...Show More

16 years ago Doñana National Park in southern Spain was devastated by a blanket of toxic sludge. Today, after years of work costing £74 million, it is once again teeming with wildlife. But there are new threats to this internationally important wetla...Show More

For the Big Wild Sleepout this year why not host a sleepover in your garden? The idea is to get up close to nature, and raise money to protect it, by spending a night outdoors between June 16th and 22nd. Jane Markham talks to Richard Bashford about h...Show More

This year, as part of the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB asked about the wildlife that visits our gardens - not just the birds. These results have just been released. More than half of us saw frogs and toads and on this edition of Nature's Voice J...Show More

The Big Garden Birdwatch results have arrived and in this episode of Nature's Voice we hear from the children of a Folkestone Primary school about what they did for their Big Schools Birdwatch. We look at the ups and downs for this year's top ten bi...Show More

Some of the worst floods in living memory continue to cause huge problems in the south of England and this month's Nature's Voice talks to Jane Brookhouse, the RSPB's area site manager in Somerset. Also, with National Nestbox week coinciding with Lo...Show More

This year you can take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch on your phone, tablet or PC and for the first time you can also record some of the animals you find in your garden throughout the year. On this episode of Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to Sa...Show More

The Turtle Dove, one of the symbols of Christmas, is in serious trouble. On this festive edition of Nature's Voice we hear from the RSPB's Simon Tonkin about what might be causing the massive decline in this beautiful and iconic bird in recent years ...Show More

How do you get children to swap some of their TV and computer time for spending more wild time outdoors? Project Wild Thing is a film led campaign which aims to do just that. It's backed by the RSPB and is made by award winning documentary maker Da...Show More

As wildlife presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff takes up her role as the RSPB's new President she talks to Jane Markham about her love of the natural world and how, at a time when nature is facing huge challenges, she hopes to inspire adults and children...Show More

Ospreys from Loch Garten are well on their way south. We know this from data received from the satellite tags worn by this year's youngsters Breagh and Oighrig. On this month's Nature's Voice Richard Thaxton, site manager at Loch Garten, looks back a...Show More

The first Big Wild Sleepout was a huge success if the experience of those who took part at the RSPB's reserve at Arne in Dorset is anything to go by. On this month's Nature's Voice we're packing our tents and munching on marshmallows as we spend a ni...Show More

Linda Barker, interior designer and television presenter, gets creative in her garden for some new clients - the wildlife. It's all part of the launch of the Giving Nature a Home campaign. Also in this episode Jane Markham talks to Richard Bashford a...Show More

Sir David Attenborough has issued a call to arms in response the State of Nature report. In this month's podcast we hear how news of worrying declines in the natural world, highlighted in the report, has been received. 25 conservation organisations, ...Show More

The State of Nature report, just published by the RSPB in collaboration with more than 20 other major conservation groups, provides alarming reading. It shows that more than half the UK’s native species are declining and a large number of those are t...Show More

Swallows,martins,cuckoos and many other summer visitors have yet to arrive this year and on this edition of Nature's Voice we hear from Bird's Magazine editor Mark Ward about why this might be. Plus Danae Sheehan - the RSPB's migrant's programme mana...Show More

The Big Garden Birdwatch 2013 shows sparrow and starling numbers continuing to decline and on this month's Nature's Voice we look at how saving nature starts at home in our gardens and window boxes. Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Adrian Thomas - Ho...Show More

How wildlife friendly is your garden? On this month’s Nature’s Voice we’re celebrating National Nestbox week from seven year old Henry’s point of view - with a little help from his mum and his grandmother. Plus RSPB wildlife advisor Ian Hayward has s...Show More

It’s January already and time for the world’s biggest annual bird survey - Big Garden Birdwatch! Kate Long, author of ‘The Bad Mother's Handbook’ has taken part with her family for the last seven years. Her sons are now 15 and 12. As a wildlife en...Show More

After both drought and flood in 2012 for this month's Nature's Voice Jane Markham visits Otmoor - a wetland reserve in Oxfordshire - to find out how they are coping in this bleak mid winter. And we get tips from RSPB staff about how they prise their ...Show More

Mike Dilger - ecologist and natural history presenter - has a new book out, written for the RSPB. Wild Town aims to show children that wildlife is all around us in our towns and cities as well as in the countryside. Jane Markham talks to Mike about s...Show More

Are children today losing touch with nature? The RSPB is joining forces with academics from the University of Essex to find out how connected 8 to 12 year olds are to the natural world. On this edition of Nature's Voice, Jane Markham talks to the RSP...Show More

Sarah Outen - the first woman and the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean - talks about the drama of her summer at sea and her support for the RSPB's work to save the albatross. Her 'London to London via the World' challenge was cut ...Show More

The finalists in this year’s Nature of Farming Awards have been selected and in this edition of Nature’s Voice we hear from all four of them and how they are working to protect nature on their farms. The Make Your Nature Count results are in and Jane...Show More

The Rio+20 Earth Summit may not have seen a giant leap forward for the environment, but as the RSPB's Sacha Cleminson tells Jane Markham on this edition of the Nature's Voice, it has perhaps nudged the agenda forward. We also assess a new report cal...Show More

The Rio+20 Earth Summit in late June will focus on sustainable development. In this episode of Nature's Voice we look at the RSPB's work in the Gola Rainforest of Sierra Leone which employs local people to conserve the forest while improving their li...Show More

Chris Packham and the BBC Springwatch team return to the RSPB's Ynys-hir reserve at the end of May. On this month's Nature's Voice (our 60th edition) Jane Markham finds out how the preparations are going from the warden there, Russell Jones, and catc...Show More

After one of the wettest Aprils on record East Anglia, the South East, parts of Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West are still officially in drought. In this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Andre Farrar about why th...Show More

The Big Garden Birdwatch results have been published and although starlings remain the second most commonly spotted bird in our gardens there has been a further worrying decline in their numbers. Their population is down 79 per cent since the first ...Show More

Proposals to build an airport on the north Kent marshes are in the news once again. In this episode of Nature's Voice the RSPB's Rolf Williams, who is based at RSPB Northward Hill, talks to local people about what a new transport hub on the Thames Es...Show More

Which bird's call sounds like a bored football fan chanting United, United, United - and is one of the newest arrivals in the UK to feature in the Big Garden Birdwatch top ten? This edition of Nature's Voice will have the answer to that. Plus Jane Ma...Show More

In this, extended edition, of Nature's Voice we look ahead to 2012. With gloomy predictions for the state of the economy we discuss at the implications for the environment. We're also tying up some of the loose ends from 2011. Did the spoon-billed sa...Show More

India's vulture population has been devastated over the last 20 years. Ninety nine per cent of one species has been wiped out. We look at why this has happened and, four years after we first featured the subject on the Nature's Voice podcast, we char...Show More

Dave Lamb, of Come Dine with Me fame, lends his voice to this year's RSPB Feed the Birds Day. On this month's podcast we look at some innovative ways of feeding our garden birds as halloween approaches and talk to some Nature's Voice Facebookers ab...Show More

The spoon-billed sandpiper is in danger of becoming extinct. The population of this tiny and charming wading bird is crashing by more than a quarter each year. There are now fewer than 300 birds left. They've never been bred in captivity before but ...Show More

Garden birds have had a good breeding season. We know that because the thousands of responses to this year's Make Your Nature Count survey have now been analyzed. On this edition of Nature's Voice Jane Markham talks to the RSPB's Richard Bashford abo...Show More

The RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Awards celebrate the work farmers do for wildlife. In this episode of Nature's Voice the RSPB's Heather Griffiths visits one of this year's regional winners Robert Kynaston. Plus we hear how South West regional wi...Show More

How do you put a satellite tag on a Gannet? Research at the RSPB's Bempton Cliffs reserve in North Yorkshire meant staff there needed to do just that. Jane Markham asks Steve Race, community education officer at Bempton, how it was done and what they...Show More

BBC Springwatch's new home is at the RSPB's Ynys-hir reserve near Aberystwyth. From May 30th Kate, Chris and Martin will be broadcasting from a converted tractor shed on the site. In this episode of Nature's Voice we visit Ynys-hir in the run up to S...Show More

The RSPB's reserve at Arne on the Dorset coast boasts all six of the UK's reptiles. On this podcast meet the season's first baby smooth snake with Rob Farrington and Paul Morton who work there and have many more than six good reasons to join them on ...Show More

Kate Humble tells us how she is ‘Stepping Up For Nature’ as part of the RSPB’s latest campaign. As RSPB President, she was at the launch of the project and this month’s Natures Voice looks at how you too can step up to help wildlife and the environm...Show More

The plant and animal kingdoms are starting to wake up to spring. In this podcast we look at some fascinating mating rituals of birds, animals and even trees. The humble hazel is one of the first trees to brighten the hedgerows at this time of year, w...Show More

Facebook followers of the RSPB Love Nature pages tell us where they'll be doing their Big Garden Birdwatch this year. We also hear of a new partnership between the RSPB and BUPA Care Homes to bring nature into their gardens and into the lives of the...Show More

Surfin' Bird for Christmas number one! What has the RSPB's director of conservation Mark Avery got to do with the campaign for Bird is the Word to beat the X Factor to the top of the festive pops? We also hear about the 'new bird on the block' when ...Show More

Bella the sun bear was rescued from a snare. Now, fully fit, she has been released into the Harapan rainforest in Sumatra. Information from her radio collar will play an important role in the restoration of the the forest - a joint project between th...Show More